Freiburg-Hertha Berlin is a match in the 26th day of the Bundesliga and is played on Saturday at 15:30: TV, formations, predictions.
On the one hand there is a team, Freiburg, who continue to dream of playing in the Champions League next year. On the other is Hertha Berlin, who are in serious danger of ending up downstairs after narrowly avoiding relegation last season. It’s not a head-to-head, but the match at the Europa-Park Stadion looks a lot like it.
Christian Streich’s side cushioned the blow of elimination from the Europa League through Juventus – two defeats in the first leg and return – and before the break returned with a point from the tricky away trip to Mainz: a draw, however, that smacks of a missed opportunity and left a bitter taste in the mouth, as Svensson’s team’s goal came in the dying minutes. Since February, Freiburg’s only setbacks have been against Massimiliano Allegri’s Bianconeri in the cup. In the league, Grifo and his team-mates have not lost for six days and a fortnight ago they overtook even Leipzig – who fell by surprise at home to Bochum – in fourth place. The race for one of the four Champions places is more open than ever. It is crucial, however, not to make any missteps against Hertha Berlin: after the match with the capitolini, in fact, the club from the city of the Black Forest will face Bayern Munich twice in the space of a few days, the first in the quarter-final of the German Cup, the second in the Bundesliga.
Freiburg unbeaten from eleven home games
Freiburg aim to make the home factor count once again: they have not lost in front of their home crowd in eleven league matches.
Schwarz
Streich, however, will have to do without his centre forward, the Austrian Gregoritsch, who is disqualified. In the attacking trident, in addition to the irreplaceable Grifo, Doan and Holer will therefore play. Sandro Schwarz also has some formation problems, as he has to do without Richter on the right flank, with Kenny and Pekarik competing for his place. Jovetic, who scored in the last match against Hoffenheim, which ended in a painful 3-1 defeat for the German capital, could be back in attack. Since the win against Augsburg, Hertha have picked up just one point in three games, dropping to third-last place, just one point behind bottom-of-the-table Stuttgart.
The prediction
Freiburg are very solid at home and with the teams behind them in the standings they usually don’t miss a beat. The three points should come easily against Hertha Berlin, who are in crisis and have lost in their last eight away matches.
Freiburg-Hertha Berlin line-up odds
- FREIBURG (3-4-3): Flekken; Kübler, Ginter, Lienhart; Sildillia, Eggestein, Höfler, Günter; Doan, Höler, Grifo.
- HERTHA BERLIN (3-5-2): Christensen; Rogel, Uremovic, Dardai; Kenny, Tousart, Cigerci, Serdar, Plattenhardt; Ngankam, Niederlechner.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-0
